teletech

A true novice question , but just so I don't confuse the issue or offend the experienced... If one owns a composite vehicle (ie Scimitar with a 76mm fitted) what does one call it? If you are standing outside it sure looks a Scorpion but if you peer into the murky darkness at the dataplate it's not. Shuzan held out his short staff and said: “If you call this a short staff, you oppose its reality. If you do not call it a short staff, you ignore the fact. Now what do you wish to call this?”

I just bought a Sturgeon that was overhauled and fit for service a couple years back and the pod WAS fitted FWIW.

I did wind up having Terry Brooks buy a couple of these for me(02 FF 10, 02 FF 57). One I'm restoring and one went for spares. To briefly touch on a few questions mentioned: The gearbox is removed, final drive flanges are also absent. :-( The interior was back to APC spec, mostly at least. The back door had no seat. One was mostly mssing it's hydraulics. With two vehicles I got one dash, less speedometer, as you say, chucked in back. Accoring to the history they were in good running order when they went for surplus and parts pulled. ~3400 each In general the vehicle looked pretty good, loads of brackets and dross tossed in back, missing the double backrest and some minor interior parts. Track a little more worn than I would have expected but good. The cupola was cemented in place with sealant and is still a little chunky to operate. In the photos I really didn't like the MCT doghouse on the hull and had planned to strip it and fab some Spartan doors but the ability to stand up in a CVR(T) is really growing on me, especially after an hour or two mucking vile crud out of my Scorpion! Oh, inside of both fuel tanks was sparkling clean! Not what I expected at all on a CVR(T). So, for now I'm working on putting the electrical system back together and see if I can get the 6BT running. Assuming it sounds good (~300 hours on the clock but the spare engine has rust in the turbo) I'll sit and wait for a couple years with my fingers crossed that a gearbox shows up. I do have a spare petrol gearbox and if nothing proper shows up in a year I might give that a go to see if it will move under it's own power at least.

Sorry for all the questions, it's my first armour. So, the flange at the front of the hull is bent all to heck as they so often seem to be and I'm wondering how folks have dealt with it? Having lifted a chunk of the weight of the vehicle while moving it and not bending it further then it seems like wedging an anvil under it and pounding is unlikely to result in anything but a tired shoulder. I could use a big rosebud on a torch, cut some slots to relive the stretching, or just cut the whole thing off and make a new one? The back side is about half off from corrosion so I'll need to make a replacement for that as well. I have the Repaircraft hull welding How-To but I'm wondering if there are tips beyond that I should know before breaking out my ancient TIG? thanks, P_

Well, I'll have to wait until I get round to a facebook account but I really love the tagline for the group "we had a heater and you didn't" Thanks for the pointer, I'll see what I can do. P_

Also, I notice the Alvis board had a registry http://www.afvsociety.co.uk/vehicleregister.html but surely there must be many more vehicles out there. Is there another registry I should be aware of?

Thanks so much for the ID on the turret! Is there any good resource to find out service history on the Belgian vehicles? All I have to go on is the paintwork and what Terry's told me. Interesting service picture, looks like quite a number of canister rounds.

Hmm, rather tempting but then I'd have to buy a BAR, even better!

Any particular areas I should document? I've attached a couple pictures from the unboxing that show the turret at least reasonably and hopefully the bin positions will help narrow things down. I would add that I am aware sandals were a very poor choice for the occasion.

This one came from Terry Brooks actually, I guess he had 18 of them. I had him pack up that and a Withams Sturgeon for me. I'd love to see some in action and get some pointers but sadly I have to work that weekend.

I bought a Franken-Scorpion recently and I'm trying to find out what I can about both parts of it so I can decide what path to take in restoration. The hull is Belgian scimitar #65247 and has been in-service in Rwanda, Somalia, and I'm told Bosnia as well. I'm pretty sure the turret is British and has a decal from the AFM(L). The gun barrel (which of course may not be original) has the motto of the order of the garter: "moni soit qui mal y pense" but I know that doesn't narrow things down much. I noticed the firewall in a Sturgeon I bought has it's reg# stamped in so I was wondering if turrets were serialized somewhere? Thanks for any information.

That would be brilliant! A picture being worth a thousand words and what not. You can PM me or I'm sure the group could use them for posterity. thanks,

I have had a tough time finding pictures of the .50 M2 that some of these had mounted and I'm wondering how it was done? I read it was every 4th vehicle so equipped, can someone verify that this is correct? What other differences in fitment and details are there? thanks,

A couple of these made their way into a surplus lot I bought and I'm wondering what they are: About 5' tall by 3' wide and about a half inch thick. Both sides look to be fiberglass with some sort of gypsum looking clay/dust stitched between them. One has grommets for hanging. At first I was almost thinking some sort of spall-liner but it doesn't have the integrity for that so I'm thinking fire insulation perhaps, it's an odd shape though. Any guesses? thanks,

Welcome from another virtual ex-pat! I'm in California and eagerly awaiting my first armor, a pair of CVR(T) which now that I've suffered some rather nasty fees for "random" enhanced customs inspection, should arrive any day now. P_

Obviously SWB. Series 2 perhaps? I rescued it from scrap some years ago in case I bought a rover and wanted a knock-about top or a starting point for something custom but it's time to clean house. The back door is 35-5/8" wide, 44-1/4" tall if that helps.

Did my form-6 for a couple of CVR(T) by myself and it was no problem at all, not even that slow at 6-weeks turnaround. You don't need much information but it helps to have a seller and shipper lined up already. I used Mike at inter-market, not the cheapest quote I got, but he has a LOT of experience which gave me peace of mind I felt worth the money. The vehicles I looked at in the US were a LOT more money than the equivalent vehicle in the UK so I was well paid to do the import myself... at least I think I was as the container hasn't arrived yet and gone through customs, etc. My advice is to buy two, no really, since the shipping on a 40' container isn't much more then a 20'. You can go RORO if you get a runner and since you are near a port but if you go container you can ship a bunch of spare parts at the same time. Or you can split a container, PM me if you want to go that route since you are on the wrong coast for me but it would still be cost-effective and I want a ferret to go with my CVR(T). Plus I know of a chap with a pair for cheap. :-) Otherwise have a look at: http://www.tanks-alot.co.uk/sales.htm Buy now while the exchange rate is in your favour!

Sadly, I also had a very negative experience. I wanted a Sturgeon or two. Being out of the country knew it would take a while to sort out the paperwork but offered a detailed explanation of my knowledge of the process and timeline involved. I then offered to pay any reasonable storage and handling charges. I was rebuffed in what I felt was a very unprofessional manner, suggesting I hadn't any idea what was involved and don't contact them again! I did reluctantly give them some money through a broker in the UK but I gather most of these vehicles went for scrap. Sigh.

Not I, I'm afraid. I had to go out of town at the last moment and the auction slipped my radar. I guess I'll have to ship one from the UK. I'm sure we will see the new owner here or over on steelsoldiers.

I'm considering a Mk1 in really poor condition but it's already in the USA which shaves off a few months and several thousand dollars for acquisition. Thing is, all the fenders (and bins of course) are quite beat-up. I'm trying to decide if I would try to straighten the old ones, buy some new ones, or make up a set. My questions are these: How workable is the material (what gauge, ductility)? Is there a good set of drawings out there for those of us with a shear, brake and lack of good sense? What should I expect to pay for a set of fenders and how available are they? Oh, here's the link for the auction in case somebody needs it more than I or can shed any light on it's history: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ebaymotors/1954-British-Daimler-Ferret-Scout-Armored-Car-9000-miles-/111582716167?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&forcev4exp=true I wonder if it's ex-Canadian? thanks, P_

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/4854222766.html Not quite enough capacity for me to tow with but a nice looking rarity.

In my 40s with a fair bit of gray so I'm no help though I did own a few military vehicles in my younger days as well so I suppose there is an argument for getting them started early. In addition to rising vehicle prices and insurance costs I'll also mention that the larger/taller kids today don't fit behind the wheel/tillers as well as the generations before. P_

$17000USD http://burlington.craigslist.org/cto/4815409294.html I've no affiliation, I tripped over this while looking for something else. Is that a Ferret turret?

If your vehicle needs to be really original and you want the authentically frustrating experience then keep it 6V, if you actually need to drive it without much fuss and are willing to do the work up front I really advocate the conversion, there is a reason everybody changed! I had a 1953 dodge for many years and had to replace the 6V battery every couple years and even then getting it started on a cold winter morning was a chore, after I converted it it started right up in the worst conditions. with 12 volt you get much better cold starting as lead-acid battery chemistry has a large voltage sag when cold, and more tolerant of voltage drop from a slightly loose or corroded cable and your battery can be a bit old and weak and still be OK. It allows you to use an in-distributor electronic ignition as opposed to points which results in better reliability and lower maintenance. You can buy batteries and (brighter) bulbs anywhere and also should you need a jump or want to help out with one it's easy. You can also power things like your GPS, a car radio, and cellphone which can be handy. Some guys who just need a little more will go with an 8-volt tractor battery and most adjustable regulators can be set up to give the extra charge voltage. the conversion depends on the age of the vehicle and what gear is fitted. The regulator, all bulbs(including headlamps,markers, instrument lamps etc.), the coil and condenser are a start, then you need to consider also the instruments themselves (often an external regulator can be fitted), likely a generator, sometimes a fuel pump (I think all the electric fuel pumps are 12+v but not sure). Technically you need to change/ rewind the starter but most folks I've seen just leave it and it seems to work out. If a heater is fitted, this can be annoying as you need a re-wind, new motor, or somewhat hefty regulator. I think Eastwood and some others have pretty substantial regulators and you can run a split system if you don't want to fuss with your gauges or keep your old, dim brakelights. good luck, P_

Thanks so much for the tips, Parcel2go was the winner this round. As I'm bringing over a shipping container with a CVR(T), so the shipment is just within the UK. The sights are apparently covered for import/export already as part of a normal vehicle. The paperwork for the import took about 2 months and the export another month. best, Pavl_